


Liar Liar

by breakdancingfish



Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies), Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Genre: M/M, a large plush Hello Kitty in a tutu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 10:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6114139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breakdancingfish/pseuds/breakdancingfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benji has some difficulty lying to Will. It becomes a game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liar Liar

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during the six-month gap in _Rogue Nation_.

When Benji Dunn arrived at the luggage carousel, he found that his suitcase had already been retrieved by William Brandt. 

“Wow, what great service they have at this airport,” Benji said, proceeding to walk with Will toward the revolving doors. “If there’s a hot towel as well, you might be getting a substantial gratuity.” 

“What, I’m not hot enough for you?” Will asked with a dorky grin. He directed Benji toward the car, putting the suitcase in the trunk before sliding into the driver’s seat. 

But Will didn’t start the ignition, causing Benji to give him a questioning eyebrow. _Bugs?_ he mouthed, gesturing around the vehicle in an attempt to convey context. 

Will shook his head and sighed. “We shouldn’t have to worry about that yet, but go ahead and check anyway.” Yet? Shit. Benji ran his app for all potential vehicle problems just in case it _was_ time to worry about explosives or disabled brakes. Upon the all clear notification, Will looked him in the eye and calmly stated, “The IMF has been absorbed by the CIA.” 

“Not funny.” 

“Not joking.” 

It was Benji’s turn to sigh. They’d known it was a possible outcome, but Benji had been too busy remotely opening plane doors for Ethan to give it much thought. A part of him always knew he should have had a contingency plan, but another part told him that Will would have that covered. “So what’s the plan then?” 

“You’re taking this well,” Will said, and proceeded to turn the key. “First, you’re on leave starting now.” 

“Nice, but shouldn’t I be going back in the airport and picking a destination?” Benji asked as Will put the car in reverse. 

“Second, you’re staying here in town as much as possible.” 

“What? Are we all under house arrest or something?” Benji frowned. Not that he minded staying at home and playing video games and bingeing television shows, but he certainly wanted the freedom to play and binge somewhere else if he wanted. And he definitely knew someone else who’d have a problem with the setup. “Have you told Ethan? He might invent new and unusual ways to murder people when he hears.” 

“Third, you will not contact Ethan. You’re staying in town so you have an alibi when you’re asked if you’ve been in contact with him.” 

Right, Benji wouldn’t have been the only agent Will had to evict from the field. And if the CIA would be asking, that would mean they didn’t know. Classic Ethan. “So what’s he working on that gets him the pass out of jail?” 

Will finished checking his blind spot and changing lanes before continuing. “You don’t get to know whether or not I know anything about Ethan.” He put his hand up before Benji could even begin to complain. “I do trust you, and I know you have the interrogation training to keep secrets.” Will happened to come to a stoplight and looked directly at Benji as he said with a smile, “But I also know you think dream extraction will be real sooner rather than later so better safe than sorry.” 

Benji wasn’t sure when Will had come to understand him so well. Perhaps Benji had defused enough tense situations with movie references that it was now considered the go-to method to deal with him. But something still wasn’t adding up. “Okay, but what’s the endgame? Ethan infiltrates the committee and gets himself established as the new secretary and everything goes back to normal?” 

“I’m not sure in what universe Secretary Hunt sounds normal to you,” Will pointed out with an incredulous face. “But in time you’ll be given a CIA job that’ll probably suck, so I’m going to delay that as much as possible for you.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s the least I could do. There are too many references to your work with Ethan to prevent your connection being discovered, so depending on his status when that happens, you’ll most likely be questioned about him so much that you’ll wish you never met him.” 

Benji stared at the license plates of the cars ahead, subconsciously applying mnemonic devices toward remembering them. If he’d never met Ethan, he probably wouldn’t have engrained that habit. Benji preferred his field agent self over his desk job self, so he really couldn’t envision wishing he’d never met Ethan. That would also mean never having met Jane or Luther or Will, and that thought was just depressing. 

“Also,” Will continued, “the CIA Director is the worst. You’ll hate him. I guarantee it.” 

“Great, something to look forward to.” All of a sudden Benji’s stomach growled. “Actually, I am looking forward to food. Pizza?” 

***

The next Friday evening Will brought over takeout from a new fusion restaurant. Benji thought this was a good sign, because surely Will wouldn’t bring untested food if he had bad news. 

“So am I reporting for duty on Monday?” Benji asked, mentally crossing his fingers anyway.

“You’re good for now,” Will told him, pulling plasticware out of wrappers. “There’s so much bureaucracy and no integration plan. You should be in the clear for a while.” 

“Sweet. What are these?” Benji asked, holding up a carton of dark cylinders.

“Um… blue corn eggrolls maybe?” Will even put eggrolls in airquotes.

“At least I’m getting a dining adventure since my life has lost all excitement.” Benji gave a fake pout as he dipped the roll into a mystery sauce. 

Will furrowed his eyebrows. “Don’t lie to me. I know for a fact you’ve watched every episode of _Daredevil_ and you can’t convince me you weren’t excited.” 

Mouth full, Benji said, “Seems I can’t lie to you, you know me too well.” 

“Shut up and chew your food.” Will’s demand for manners didn’t quite hit its mark as it lacked any sternness. But Benji did as he was told, interjecting his food opinions between bites as needed. 

***

Benji was going stir-crazy. The gym was proving insufficient for all his pent-up energy. He’d even run out of his super-awesome hacking ideas. And he was so close to walking to the airport and boarding the first flight just to have something new to do that he must have been projecting his brain waves. Because that was precisely when his phone rang. 

“I’m sure you’re bored, want to catch a movie? Like in an actual theater?”

“You mean a physical building with living breathing humans?”

“If you’re going to be like that then I rescind my invitation.” 

“Okay, sass deactivated. Invitation accepted.” 

So Will and Benji met up for an evening screening of _Mad Max: Fury Road_ , where they split a gigantic tub of popcorn. Afterward in the arcade, they discussed how hardcore Furiosa was. 

“I bet she took her own arm off,” Benji said as he deftly placed another skeeball in the high-point corner. “She would be the only one she would trust to do it.” 

Will groaned as his skeeball missed every ring. “She could have been born without it.” 

Benji stuck out his finger. “Hey, let me have my fan theory fun, thank you very much.” 

“Speaking of badasses,” Will said as Benji rolled his eyes at the transition, “Luther came in today.” 

“Oh yeah? I take it he did something worth mentioning.” 

“Luther quit today.” 

Benji’s game ended and a series of tickets exited the machine. “Damn, the man sure does know how to make a point.” 

Will threw his final ball before going on to say, “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but Jane’s story is that she’s stuck in a disputed area of some war-torn country because she’s having passport issues.” 

“With _all_ her passorts?” Benji asked with wide eyes. “My compliments, you must have done some extensive handiwork for that to be a viable story.” 

“You know you’re not the only one who can use a computer.” Will tore off his strand of tickets. “You are the only one with skeeball skills though.” 

“And I’ve got plenty of time to acquire new skills. I think I’ll take a class in knife throwing or something.”

Will frowned. “Not convinced. The ambiguity doesn’t make it more believable.” 

“It can’t be a lie if I haven’t even decided yet!” Benji protested. 

Suddenly a warm hand grabbed Benji’s wrist and his tickets were yanked away. “You get these back once you can tell me a lie that I believe.” 

“Not fair,” Benji griped. “I’ll have to reveal it was a lie to prove it worked. It’d be like showing your poker hand was unsuited two and seven after winning by getting everyone to fold before the flop.” 

“Well if you’d prefer, let me go on believing until you’re no longer amused and _then_ tell me.” 

“Exactly how much time do you plan to spend at this arcade?” Benji asked, glancing around for an hours of operation sign. 

“How about we trade in for something now, and I keep it unless you achieve your goal?” Will began walking toward the prize counter. 

“Okay, game on.” Benji rushed ahead. “But I am picking the tackiest thing they have so you’ll be embarrassed to have it in your home.” 

Which is how a large plush Hello Kitty in a tutu came to reside on William Brandt’s couch. 

***

Will came equipped with two grocery bags the next week. Apparently he thought Benji’s kitchen wasn’t fulfilling its destiny or living up to its potential. Benji couldn’t complain though when it turned out Will used to work in a deli and made pretty much the best sandwiches ever. 

“This is, quite literally, the best sandwich ever.” Benji placed it back on his plate. “Which means you don’t have good news.” 

“You think good food translates to bad news?” Will took a sip of his beverage. Before Benji could point out the stalling tactic, Will continued. “You’re right, and I didn’t even realize I did that.” 

“Sometimes you learn more about yourself from someone else,” Benji said with a shrug. And then he waited, meaning to look at Will’s eyes but instead focusing on his mouth. 

“You’re meeting with Director Hunley tomorrow morning.” 

“Rock on.” 

“When he doesn’t believe you don’t know where Ethan is, he’ll probably polygraph you.” 

“Super.” 

“And odds are that I’ll be there as a witness.” 

“Yes! Good times buddy!” Benji held his hand up for a high-five. 

Will rolled his eyes and pushed the hand away. “There, in that building, we are not friends. I am just your contact, and I’ve only been in contact with you recently to determine if you knew anything.”

“Uh, that was way harsh Tai.” 

“Oooh, do you have _Clueless_? Let’s watch that later.” 

Benji stared at Will incredulously. “You kidding? I have the internet. I have every movie ever made.” 

“Good, I was worried about your supply of 90s teen comedies.” 

“Worry no more.” Benji leaned closer to Will and lowered his voice. “Did I ever tell you about this one time at band camp?” 

“When you stuck a flute up your pussy? Heard it.” 

“Actually it was my ass.” 

“I’m pretty sure you actually stuck your dick in a French horn.” 

“No, I put my dick in an astronaut glove at space camp.” And with that one Benji resumed eating his sandwich. 

“Sexy as that might have been, I’m pretty sure Hello Kitty won’t be moving here anytime soon.” 

“At least now I know why you’re so concerned with my lying skills. You could have just told me you’ll be there when I’m tortured.” 

Will only whistled innocently. 

Benji finished his drink. “Fine, but when I am eventually successful, you won’t see it coming.” 

“Just finish your sandwich so we can start the movie sooner.” 

***

Turns out Will was correct. Hunley didn’t believe for a second that Benji knew nothing of Ethan Hunt’s whereabouts. Of course certain elements of Benji’s personality were easily interpreted as creating a distraction. Maybe he should work on that. Oh, and Will was also right about hating Hunley, which Benji did immediately. Maybe it had something to do with his face being too small for his head. Nah, it was just the being a total asshole thing. Benji’s not prejudiced. 

Hunley seemed to be amusing himself as the polygraph was about to begin. “Benji Dunn. I believe you know William Brandt.” 

“Yes, we have encountered each other previously,” Benji said, projecting the utmost formality. He even kept his greeting to a simple, “Brandt.” 

“Hello Benjamin.” Will’s delivery was completely stoic and he didn’t move from where he was standing against the wall, but Benji would have sworn there was a twinkle in his eye. Must have been the lighting. 

And then the questioning began, all the exact same ones in the exact same order as the first interview. For the most part Benji’s answers were completely truthful: he genuinely didn’t know where Ethan was or what he was doing. Their last interaction had been a successful mission so there was no problem being honest about that either. 

“Last question: when Ethan Hunt does contact you, will you be providing said material to us?” 

Oooh, that one was new. Benji stole a sideways glance at Will, who was giving an almost imperceptible nod of encouragement. “Well, no sir. I would not be providing the hypothetical contact evidence to you.” 

The test administrator confirmed that Benji’s vitals indicated accuracy. 

“Dunn, do you realize that withholding any information we’ve expressly requested is a potential act of treason?”

“Of course. But thinking that Ethan Hunt would allow a record of contacting anyone to exist in any form shows a tremendous lack of awareness of IMF operating procedure on your part.” 

Again, no lies. At that point Will was openly smirking. 

“We’re done.” Hunley headed toward the exit and was almost out the door when he turned and added an ominous, “For now.”

Once he was out, Benji noted, “Too bad he doesn’t self-destruct in a matter of seconds.” 

Will waited as Benji got out of the apparatus. “Let me introduce you to your new desk.”

“And the vending machines?”

“And the vending machines.”

***

They discreetly planned to arrive at the nearby bar at differing times. It wasn’t like hanging out was a major problem, but it was more convenient if Benji and Will were merely acquaintances, coincidentally meeting and only hanging out after being surprised to see each other. They put on the act for any potential witnesses until they sat down and proceeded as usual. 

“So that’s what you’ve been putting up with for weeks? I’m shocked you didn’t get me in there sooner just to have a sane person to vent to!” 

“And how exactly would you fulfill the role of sane person?” Will asked while gesturing for another round.

“Ha ha.” Benji emptied his glass. “No wonder Luther walked out. I’m tempted to do the same.” 

“I’ve considered it, believe me.” Will thanked the server as another pitcher arrived. “The only thing stopping me is Ethan’s track record. It keeps me optimistic that everything will work out in the end.” 

“Easy for you to say. For me this is just the beginning.” 

“How about we leave the work at work and talk about something else.” Will thought for a moment, then prompted, “Tell me a story.”

Without skipping a beat, Benji started, “Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who lived in a castle.” 

“Tell me a story about you.” 

“This is a story about me.” 

“Must have been a former residence then. How’d you lose your title?”

Benji gave Will a glare meant to convey _isn’t it obvious?_ “Renounced when adopting American citizenship, duh.” 

“Of course, silly me to have forgotten. Did the prince have a pet?” 

“Yes, a beautiful horse.” 

“What was the horse’s name?” 

“Um…” Benji took a quick gulp of his beer. “Haven’t I been interrogated enough today? Stop interrupting and let me tell the story you specifically requested.” 

“Sometimes your lies need to be spontaneous.” Will smiled as he said, “You can do everything else on the fly. You can learn to do this.”

“Oh, I did have a turtle named Speedy.” 

“Maybe next time.” 

***

Hunley currently had Benji on punishment via busy work, monitoring some supposed threat’s keystrokes, so he rarely did anything productive. He’d dabbled with Netflix at his desk, but the munching on snacks gave him away too easily. Usually it was gaming with occasional peeks at what he was supposed to be doing thrown in for good measure. 

Benji rarely saw Will at the office. In fact, when it wasn’t polygraph time, Benji almost forgot Will even worked there. Which is why he was a bit startled when he heard his name in the cafeteria. 

“Oh, hey Brandt. Didn’t see you there.” Benji scanned the area, almost sat, but thought better of it and instead went with, “I feel like this is high school and I need to ask your permission before I sit down.” 

“Go ahead.” Will gestured to the chair across from his, and went back to picking at a salad that looked past its prime. 

“So… how’s life?” Benji inquired, completely at a loss for how to proceed. 

“Not bad. Yours?” 

“Peachy.” If Will wasn’t going to direct the conversation so Benji knew what was and wasn’t allowed, then the sarcastic one word answers would have to do. 

“Then I suppose it’s cool if I take this.” Will stuck a fork into Benji’s fruit salad and pulled out a peach. 

“I think I’ll have to change my answer.” 

Will chewed the peach slowly. Benji observed his throat as he swallowed. He was wondering why he was finding Will’s neck so fascinating when he registered that Will was speaking. 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” 

“I said,” Will said, “knock knock.” 

“Who’s there?”

“Interrupting cow.” 

“Heard it,” Benji said, and popped a crouton into his mouth.

“Just do it.” 

Benji held up his hands in mock surrender. “If you insist. Interrupting cow w– “

“Here,” Will said, and handed over what remained of his hamburger.

“Um, thanks? I think?” 

“It’s not bad, I just have to go.” Will stood and pushed in his chair. “See you soon.” 

“Adios,” Benji said, and took a bite of the burger. It wasn’t bad, but Benji still felt disappointed. He realized later that Will’s bad joke had been the highlight of his day. 

***

The next polygraph turned out to be the worst one yet. The day was bad from the very beginning as Benji slept through his alarm. Then he skipped breakfast, but it was pointless since he couldn't be on time anyway, just less late. Naturally by the time he got there, Hunley was waiting at Benji’s desk.

“You’re late.”

It took all of Benji’s willpower to refrain from calling him Captain Obvious. Instead he took the over-the-top route. “Oh, I am so sorry! Did we have an appointment? I certainly didn’t mean to inconvenience you.” No, that was just an added bonus.

“My investigation will proceed at any time I see fit. And today that time is right now.”

Benji followed Hunley to the conference room, where the polygraph and its latest operator were waiting. But Will wasn’t there.

“You can't possibly believe I’ll answer anything without a witness.”

“Strap in. I’ll go find a custodian or some other acceptable human,” Hunley said, proceeding toward the doorway. That happened to be the moment Will walked through it.

“Thanks for the last minute notification,” Will said, pointedly not looking at Hunley. He also handed Benji a banana.

Benji accepted it eagerly. He took bites between the rote baseline questions. They were followed by the stuff about Ethan, which was fairly repetitive as well. Except that Hunley was having one of his more agitated days.

“I know there’s something you’re not telling me!” he essentially yelled.

Benji had grown accustomed to the minor tantrums and was unfazed. He didn’t have a prop most of the time so he took advantage and just continued eating his banana. He’d have to thank Will for it later.

But then Hunley was in Benji’s face, quietly repeating himself. Benji zoned him out entirely as he debated headbutting him. The pro of sending Hunley to medical was almost enough, but the con was Benji wasn’t sure he could do it without additionally injuring his own head. Then Will would have to get the first aid kit and tend to his wounds and maybe run a hand through his hair and whoa where did that come from?

“Are you even listening to me?”

“So what if I’m not? What exactly are you going to do about it?”

Hunley backed out of Benji’s space without a word.

Benji continued, “Do you have a dungeon? Can you suspend me over an alligator pit?” His voice was rising, and he didn’t care what the polygraph had to say anymore. “Or you could always go with the good old waterboarding. Anything to claim you’re making progress and covering your own ass!”

“I think that’s enough for today,” Will said. Benji looked over, expecting a frown directed toward him, but Will was giving Hunley a death glare instead.

Hunley returned the look. “I say when we’re finished.”

Will rushed over and began removing items that were attached to Benji. “If you want another walkout, then by all means, continue.” Benji observed Will’s fingers at work. He finished and said, “I cannot encourage my agents to remain here if their interrogators don’t know when to stop.”

Hunley stood in silence. Once Will and Benji were about to leave the room, he said, “Don’t think we won’t do this again next week.”

***

Benji had already finished one and a half pints when Will showed up at their usual booth. That was when Benji realized he was hungry. Like magic, Will handed him a chocolate bar.

“After today I thought you might be needing that.”

“Good call, thanks,” Benji said while opening the wrapper. He broke off a piece to give back to Will before biting directly into the rest.

Will surprised Benji when he said, “I kinda lost it today, I’m sorry.”

“If that’s what you did, I’m sure it was only because I went bonkers first.”

“If you hadn’t, I was seconds away from throwing a chair at the man who is technically my boss.”

Benji stroked his chin. “I was planning to headbutt him. Next time we should coordinate our efforts and attack simultaneously.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

After a few more rounds they played a questionable game of darts, which ended in a tie once they got kicked out for landing one in someone’s drink. They loitered outside for some fresh air.

Benji found he wasn’t remotely interested in heading home. There wasn’t anyone to talk to there. He could get a cat, except the conversation would actually be a monologue. Plus, there were some pretty cute cats in the world but Benji would probably still prefer looking at Will. And there it was again, his brain running amuck without his permission. He needed a vacation.

“Hey Will?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you do the passport trick for Jane instead of me? I mean, not only has she been in the field longer so she’d handle Hunley better, but she also hadn’t worked with Ethan recently so the chances of him believing her would have been better.”

Will tilted his head and Benji suspected he was being analyzed. “Good points Benji, but there’s a fairly simple answer.”

“Which is?”

“You’re prettier.”

Benji punched Will’s closer arm. “You say I can’t lie to you, but you’re just as bad at lying to me.”

“Okay. Honestly? I prefer being around you.”

“Nope.”

“That’s true!” Will insisted.

“Sure, but it’s not enough. It’s not like you actively dislike being around Jane.”

Will put his hands in his pockets and looked at his feet. “Well what do you think it is?” 

Benji hadn’t formulated a theory. But if he had to venture a guess, he figured, “If I weren’t here, I would jeopardize Ethan.”

“What? No. He couldn’t do half his shit without you, Benji. You help more than hinder. This has nothing to do with Ethan, except that his missions got us in this situation so it’s really all his fault. But otherwise, no. Nothing to do with Ethan.”

“What then? Please just tell me.”

“Alright, alright. The reason Jane is on another continent and you’re here with me is...” Will paused as he took a breath. “I’m in love with you.”

Benji was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth expecting words to just appear, but nothing happened. He closed his mouth again. Surely he was capable of processing this information. Will had managed to after all.

“Say something,” Will prompted. “Anything. The silence is killing me.” 

“I don’t know what to say.” 

“Then say something that indicates nothing has changed and we can go back to normal.”

Quiet wasn’t Benji’s style, and thus he voiced the first thing that came to mind. “I don’t think we can go back to how things were.”

Will seemed to be waiting for something more, but no clarification came. “Well in that case, have a good night Benji.” And Will turned and walked away. 

***

Benji ate almost nothing for a few days because he was too busy trying to determine how to fix everything. It was odd, his stomach wasn’t growling and he wasn’t lacking energy. When cognitively he recognized that he needed to consume something, he mentally went through a list of options and none sounded appealing. In lieu of food, Benji drank water. 

The thing that bothered him most was that almost anything would have been better than his automatic, kneejerk reaction. Why couldn’t he have at least said _thank you_? It wouldn’t have been ideal, but at least it would have shown appreciation. Or he could have gone with a nice little _I like you_. It might have expressed a potential for love in the future. Even Eric Forman’s _I love cake_ would have been an improvement. Benji was good at dwelling.

And his mood couldn’t even be improved by creating a bot over the weekend to find every online picture of Hunley and put a poop emoji in front of his face. Those giggles proved only temporary. 

Eventually Benji concluded that the reason it was so hard for him to lie to Will was because, deep down, he never wanted to lie to Will. Shortly after they first met, Will had literally put his life in Benji’s hands. Were their roles reversed, Benji would have absolutely done the same, no hesitation. Benji trusted Will inherently, and became aware that he had been subconsciously preventing any damage to the trust Will had for him. That was his hypothesis anyway. 

After some extensive reflection, Benji came up with a plan. But the plan made him nervous. There was a distinct possibility it could make things worse. Then again, not having Will around was already the worst, so the worst the plan could do would be to make things a different kind of bad, right? At least no one’s life would be in danger. Benji accepted his mission. 

***

When Benji got the call that it was time for the next polygraph, he realized he was starving. Which made sense, given that he hadn’t been eating properly for almost a week. But it wasn’t until he walked in the room and saw Will that Benji made the connection: he ate something almost every single time they were together. He couldn’t decide if that kind of Pavlovian response was creepy or if the fact that he might need William Brandt in his life just to survive was the most romantic thing of all time. 

Will was acting like it was just another ordinary session, just like all the others. Benji thought that was for the best. It made what he was planning to say easier. He just had to wait for the right question, the opportune moment. 

“Where is Ethan Hunt?”

“Not only do I not know, I also do not care.” No spikes. So far so good. 

Hunley was pointing fiercely. “So you’re saying that if he were going to tell you, you’d just tell him you didn’t care.” 

“Exactly.”

Hunley paced at the end of the room for a moment, then returned, pointing again. “So what if he were a threat to himself? Would you care then?” 

Benji put on his best _are you serious?_ face. “No, and even if I started caring, it wouldn’t inform me of his location.”

“How about this: Hunt is the one most responsible for the dissolution of your IMF. Perhaps you’d like a little payback.” 

From the corner of his eye, Benji confirmed Will was still paying attention. “No, because I don’t care about the IMF either. You seem to think I formed some kind of emotional attachment to the job. All it brought me was stress and a sleep shortage and no time for socializing of any kind.”

“You could have been friends with your team, and you were usually on Ethan’s team.” 

Here it goes. “I have no friends in the IMF. Let me repeat: I do not care.” 

Hunley seemed satisfied. When he left the room, Will followed him out directly for the first time since the polygraphs began. Benji was thankful he was still rigged up to the device, or he might have screwed everything up. He desperately wanted to catch Will and give him a hug and never let go. 

***

That evening, Benji started the final part of his plan by going to Will’s place. Once he came to the door, Benji ignored salutations and went straight to, “I came here to pick up the cat.”

“I don’t have a cat.”

“I can see her sitting on your couch from here.” Sure enough, Hello Kitty was watching the news about the latest missing airplane. 

Will stepped aside so Benji could enter. He placed a grocery bag on the floor and closed the door behind himself. When he turned back, Will was still in the entryway, arms crossed. Benji expected him to ask what the lie was, so he didn’t speak and instead studyed Will’s veins. It wasn’t until Will gave a _go on_ gesture that Benji took the hint to initiate the talk. 

“I didn’t lie about us, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was barely able to communicate, much less come up with something false and deliver it in a believable way. I really don’t think we can be the same.” Benji took a step closer to Will before adding, “I think we’ll be better.”

Will didn’t say anything. Which, okay, fair game. He did deserve a little more detail. 

Benji shifted his weight back and forth on his feet first, then said, “It was actually a lie of omission, because I didn’t tell you that I do love you too. Of course I didn’t realize it at the time. I could only lie to you because I was also lying to myself. Not exactly lying, more like not processing. Intentionally or unintentionally, I don’t know. But you saying you loved me was the catalyst that got me to figure it out. And now I know it was there the whole time.”

Will finally said something. “I’m not sure a lie of omission counts. You’ll have to do better than that because Hello Kitty really ties the room together.”

“I thought you might say that, but I’m also pretty sure you believed the first thing I said after you opened the door.” Benji could see the wheels in Will’s head turning. He gave it a moment, but couldn’t resist the reveal. “I didn’t come here to get Hello Kitty. I came here to make out with you.” 

The wheels stopped. Will got that look on his face he tended to when he’d thought of something funny. “Then we should take your jeans off, because your pants are on fire.” 

Benji blinked. Benji blinked again. “Did you invent the whole game just so you’d be able to say that?”

“Yes I did. No shame.” 

“Maybe later,” Benji said while holding back laughter. He grabbed his bag from off the floor. “I’ve realized I owe you like a ton of food so I’m making nachos.” 

“You’re going to melt cheese on chips just for me?”

“Well I figured I’d have some too, but yeah.” 

Will stepped forward and put his hand to Benji’s cheek. “Right now, the only thing you owe me is you.” His face was so close, Benji fully expected to be kissed right then. But instead Will simply stroked his thumb along Benji’s beard. He leaned into it, enjoying it for a moment before catching on that he was supposed to be the instigator. 

Benji tilted his mouth to Will’s and softly pressed their lips together. It wasn’t aggressive or pushy or demanding but it was perfect. Benji would have been content to do nothing else for the rest of his life. But then Will started pulling Benji’s lower lip between his own and then his mouth was open and nevermind that right there was perfection that Benji could be stuck in ceaselessly without complaint. 

It was then that Benji remembered he had hands and put the free one in the back of Will’s hair. Apparently everything he did with Will was going to be great. However when Will wrapped his arm around Benji’s back, it distracted him enough that he dropped his bag, which landed with a crunch. Benji pulled away and said, “I hope you don’t mind very small nachos.” 

Will moved his thumb over to cover Benji’s mouth. “I love your voice, but right now you need to stop talking.” Benji did just that.


End file.
